


Do Not Mourn

by MerlinWinchestr



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Defiance, Major Character Death TW, Struggling, Whumptober 2020, no. 11
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:47:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26865397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MerlinWinchestr/pseuds/MerlinWinchestr
Summary: When the time came, Merlin offered no resistance. He made no move as the guards led him to his death. In the neighboring cell, Gwaine roared.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 64





	Do Not Mourn

**Author's Note:**

> **Category:** AU  
>  **Rating:** T  
>  **Characters:** Gwaine, Arthur   
> **Warnings:** Major Character Death  
>  **Setting:** Between seasons 4 and 5.  
>  **Prompt:** Whumptober 2020 No. 11: Defiance, struggling

# Do Not Mourn

When the time came, Merlin offered no resistance. He made no move as the guards clasped the magic-blocking shackles to his wrists, nor did he react with anything more than a wince as similar shackles were fastened around his ankles and neck. He never once looked his executioners in the eye, his head hung low, dejected and resigned to his fate. When the cell door was open and the chains pulled forward, Merlin took slow, small steps without a fight.

In the neighboring cell, Gwaine roared. 

He cursed, yanking at the short chains that bound him to the dungeon wall. He yelled in every language he knew, struggling the entire time that Merlin was being shackled. And then he begged. He begged Merlin to fight back, to free himself, to live. He begged the guards to take him instead. He begged and he shouted until his throat was raw and his voice was hoarse. He continued to scream long after Merlin and the executioners had left the dungeon. 

Through the narrow window that opened to the courtyard, Gwaine could see the feet of the gathered crowd. Their words were muffled, a constant buzz, until suddenly everything fell silent. He strained, trying to hear the words being spoken, but the murderer spoke to quietly for him to make out the words. Desperate, Gwaine jerked on his shackles, praying in vain that they would break from the wall and he could stop this madness. 

A gasp echoed throughout the courtyard, and Gwaine collapsed to his knees. Tears rolled down his cheeks, but he had no more energy left to cry the way he knew he should. Above him, the crowd began to slowly disperse, leaving him in the silence of his cell. It felt like hours passed before Gwaine finally moved, leaning back against the wall so he could pull his knees to his chest and wrap his arms around them as best he could with the chains. Leaning forward so his face was fully hidden in the darkness of his arms, he squeezed his eyes shut, Merlin’s final words echoing in his head. 

_Do not mourn, my friend. Arthur will need you by his side._

Arthur will need you by his side. The words kept echoing over and over in his head. In his mind, Gwaine could see it as if he had been there: Merlin shackled and compliant, kneeling with his head on block as Arthur stood above, eyes hard unfeeling. His gloved hand raising then falling, the axe rising and falling in time, the gasp as Merlin died at the hands of the man he cared for more than any other. 

Footsteps interrupted the image, but Gwaine didn’t move. Keys jingled, the iron door groaning open. Only when the footsteps stopped a foot away did Gwaine look up to see Arthur himself, appearing just as he had pictured, though the king’s eyes showed only pain. Neither spoke. Slowly, Gwaine got to his feet, the shackles hanging loosely as he kept silent and stared, refusing to lower his hard glare. 

In the end, it was Arthur who looked away. With a nod from his sovereign, the jailer whom Gwaine had barely registered stepped forward and shakily unlocked Gwaine’s chains. They fell back against the stone wall with a sharp _clang_. Hurriedly, the jailer rushed out of the cell, leaving the king and knight alone. For a long time, neither spoke. 

“Is that it then?” Gwaine finally asked, voice cracked and raw. “You murder my closest friend and then release me as if nothing happened?” 

“The law is the law.” Arthur recited, but Gwaine could hear the pain in his voice. “Merlin broke the law.” 

“And saved your life more times than either of us can count.” Gwaine shook his head. “And you repaid his loyalty by murdering him.”

“Magic is evil!” Arthur snapped, eyes blazing in anger and betrayal. “It does nothing but harm.” 

“Magic is a weapon.” Gwaine barked, voice cracking. “Just like the sword you wear. It is the wielder who is good or evil, not the weapon itself.” 

“Magic corrupts,” Arthur was shouting now. “Magic killed everyone I ever loved. Merlin knew that, and yet he still chose to turn to magic!”

“Did you truly hear nothing Merlin said after he saved your worthless life?” Gwaine scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. “He didn’t choose magic; he was born with it. He had no more choice in the matter then you had in being king.” 

Arthur stiffened. For a moment, Gwaine thought he saw genuine regret flash across the other man’s face. But the moment passed, Arthur schooled his face, and all that remained was cold determination. 

“I take it,” the king said slowly, “that I can no longer count on you to be by my side as a knight.” 

For a second, Gwaine hesitated. Merlin’s final words echoed in his mind. But then he resolved himself; Merlin was a better man then he, even in death. 

“I’d rather burn then serve you ever again.” 

The king nodded. 

“Then consider yourself forever banished from Camelot. If you ever step foot in my kingdom again, you will be arrested.” 

Gwaine laughed. 

“Oh, I’ll be back. You can count on that, princess. And when I return? You will pay for what you’ve done today.” 

“You have one hour.” The king said stiffly. “Be out of the city in that time or the block will see two heads today. 

Gwaine stepped forward, never turning his back on his former friend as he made his way out of the cell. He paused at the stairs and took one last look at the noble he had once believed worth dying for. The noble that Merlin had died for. Merlin didn’t want him to mourn; fine. But he would have vengeance. 

“One day,” Gwaine promised. “You will wish it was my head on that block. Merlin may have forgiven you, but hear this King Arthur: I am not Merlin. And you will pay for his death.” 

With that, he turned and left everything behind.

**Author's Note:**

>  **Author’s Note:** Might come back and revisit this idea in the future. Apologies for any out of characterness, especially in Arthur. It’s been quite awhile since I last wrote for this show, and Arthur has always given me fits in characterization. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
